N.P.: A Novel [Hardcover]

Banana Yoshimoto (Author), Ann Sherif (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1994

NP is the title of the latest work, written in English, by a celebrated Japanese writer, but whenever anyone tries to translate the work into Japanese, death gets in the way. By the author of Kitchen. 50,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Japanese novelist Yoshimoto follows her well-received Kitchen with an offbeat, intriguing, but ultimately unsatisfying tale about incest, suicide and broken relationships. NP (after an old, sad song titled "North Point") is the name of a short-story collection published in America by celebrated emigre writer Sarao Takase. The book seems, as one character says, to be cursed: Takase committed suicide, as did three would-be Japanese translators. Four years after the death of her boyfriend, who was the last of these translators, narrator Kazami Kano becomes involved with Takase's children, the twins Saki and Otohiko, and Otohiko's girlfriend, the willowy, messed up Sui Minowa. All three of them are obsessed with NP and particularly one story about a man's affair with a young girl whom he later discovers is his daughter--a thinly veiled description of Takase's affair with Minowa. With the ghostly figure of Takase, the four young people make for a messy stew of incest, lust and obsession that is eventually brought to a head by Minowa's shattering discovery that she is pregnant by Otohiko. Yoshimoto weaves some lyrical writing and philosophical intimations of the hand of fate into her minimalist prose, but on balance this story and its narcissistic characters fail to evoke much sympathy.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Following her successful debut novel, Kitchen ( LJ 12/92), Yoshimoto again attempts to wrestle with contemporary themes that reflect a less tradition view of Japanese culture. The narrator, Kazami Kano, befriends the adult children of a famous short story writer, Sarao Takase, who commits suicide and leaves behind an unpublished story that tells of his affair with his stepdaughter, Sui. Kazami becomes deeply entangled with Sui, who is living with Takase's son, Otohiko. Sui's psychological obsession with death and her destructive behavior culminates in a failed attempt on Kazami's life as part of a love suicide pact. Despite Yoshimoto's simple yet effective style and the challenging themes of incest, religion, and lesbianism, the youthful characters seem too wooden to allow the story to develop successfully. Not required for most collections.
- David A. Berona, Westbrook Coll. Lib., Portland, Me.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 194 pages
• Publisher: Grove Pr; 1st edition (February 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802115454
• ISBN-13: 978-0802115454
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #937,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eerie and Engaging, February 1, 2000

By 

Jake - See all my reviews

This review is from: NP (Paperback)

I have read other books by Banana - Kitchen and Lizard. She always makes me feel as if I'm being followed, though I'm not sure by whom. Her remarkable stories of transvestities, lost love and in the case of NP, incest, awaken a surpressed sense of guilt inside of me. Though my morals, scruples, or just plain common sense tells me it is wrong, I can't help but feel oddly touched by the posioness, romantic love of Otohiko and his sister, Sui. Yoshimoto's stories defy logic, they are about a more spiritual and accepting way of life, they force me to try to strive for such honesty in my own life. My only criticizm lies in the fact that it is a translation of Japanese into English. It pains me that I cannot read and understand this book as it was actually written. At times the words seem overly simplistic, I'm sure it has lost some of the poetry of Banana's style in the translation. Perhaps this is just the kind of inspiration I need to go out and learn Japanese.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking and intense, March 20, 2000

By 

CoffeeGurl - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: NP (Paperback)

I have read "Kitchen" -- it is actually one of my favorite novels. I simply love Banana's descriptions and eccentric characters, and she managed to impress me one more time with "NP."

This quirky novel left a funny taste in my mouth. It dealt with such controversial issues such as incest and suicide -- but it is done with such humanity and vulnerability that you can't help but adore the characters and wish them the best. The translation was done nicely, although I'm sure that the original Japanese version (and Banana's actual words) is much better. I'm looking forward to her new novel, "Asleep" -- I will buy it on the first day of release.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Something oddly addictive about Yoshimoto..., August 30, 2004

By 

Kate (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: NP (Paperback)

Having devoured Huraki Murakami, Yoshimoto seemed like the next progressive step.

And really, they do have some similarities. There is something beautifully refreshing about their aloof, sweet descriptive style and their covert intellectualism.

However, Yoshimoto's works seem to lack a certain something, a certain zest or life. While they are compulsively addictive, they tread so lightly as to be almost unmemorable.

'Y.P' is certainly less impressive than her tiny bestseller 'Kitchen'. In both works, there seems to be a lovely layer of foggy glass between the reader and the characters, yet in 'Y.P', this is tainted by a sense of distachment from the work.

I found myself liking the book, enjoying the descriptions and the complexity of the characters, but not really caring about the outcome.

'Kitchen' is undoubtedly the better read.